My daily driver has me stumped. It started last week. Dead batteries. They are 1yr old and im thinking i left on a dome light. So i jump it and head off to work. After a week of trying different chargers etc i decided i definitely have a bad battery. i also have checked voltage while its running and get 14.36. I think this confirms a good alternator.

Saturday i drop the batteries from the frame and set them on plywood. Its a van. I charge them overnight. Sun am they still wouldn't start my rig so back to wally w them i go. Later in the day i return and they confirmed 1 battery was bad. So i take 1 new one 1 old one home. Mount them and all is well. Van starts.
Mon am van starts and off to the jobsite i go. All is well until 230ish today, we finished at one job need to head to the next and nothing. It cranked a few times. And its dead. Just solenoid clicking.
I replaced the starter thinking maybe the starter is weak. Same results. With a jump the solenoid clicks really fast. After charging the batteries an hour same thing, just fast click.

I do have a cel for 2.glow plugs its a cali model with the glow plug control module.

Is it possible a short to my glow plugs is killing my batteries? My cables and connections are clean and tight. Or maybe wally gave me the bad battery and 1 new one?

 

I would check 2 things for starters. Clean and check for resistances on all you cable connections back to the batteries, and I mean all. Positive and negative all the way down to the little ground jumpers to the fenders. If I see more than 0.02 ohms I'm cleaning, brushing and rechecking. If all that checks out then a parasitic draw test would be next on my list. With the age these old girls are getting to be battery draws are becoming somewhat common. I'll post a link for the test procedure for ya.

Testing for Parasitic Draw with a Multimeter | Test Meter Pro

 

Batteries in parallel should always be replaced in matched pairs. The older battery will draw the new battery down due to internal restance being dissimilar.

 

Just the day before yesterday I read somewhere, on the Airstream forum I think, that Walmart got a bunch of bad batteries from China that were only lasting a few months. I'll try and find the thread with the specifics. It's true though that it is recommended to change both at the same time but in the past I have cheated on that rule and got away with it. Anyway it's worth checking to see if the new Walmart battery is bad.

edit: here is the discussion on the Airstream forum and it includes the dates on the bad batteries https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44...ng-229266.html The poster's were deep cycle but from the sounds of the answer he got from Walmart it may be all the batteries within those dates.

 

A deep cycle RV battery is a different design than a diesel truck start battery. Our PS 77.3 need the biggest CCA battery that can fit in the battery box cranking purposes.

 

Yes I know a little about batteries. That is why I included this in my post: "The poster's were deep cycle but from the sounds of the answer he got from Walmart it may be all the batteries within those dates." It's a real possibility he got a bad Chinese made battery and something so easily checked shouldn't be ignored.

 

The first thing I would do would be to check if there is a big drain somewhere. Disconnect the batteries and connect just the one up top and see if you get a big arc when making the connection. Also, if you can check the drain with an amp meter, that would be even better. There should be some but not much. I cannot remember what is acceptable.

 

This does not help you through your current situation and since Udsuth78 already posted one of the best parasitic draw testing procedures out there, I will only offer my course of action based on my level of frustration with lead acid batteries.

For years I bought lead acid batteries for our vehicles. We had up to 5 vehicles at one point. Each of them had their purpose and use and were all in good running condition, except for the batteries. They seemed to be in a never ending cycle of failing and replace under warranty, prorated warranty or "tough luck". I got tired of that when the truck batteries died prematurely again.

Granted, these were top shelf parts store (Advance, Walmart, AutoZoo, O' Reallys, etc" LA batteries, so there is not a lot to be said about that... The second time around on the truck I said screw it and bought some Northstar AGM batteries. About 3 years after that I bought a tender for those Northstar batteries since the truck sits for a good 3 months during the winter and for a month or so at a time in the summer. The truck is only used for hauling the 5th wheel around and hauling other things like firewood, concrete, etc. So, it is not a daily driver by any means.

Since then, the truck has been rock solid in resting voltage department, even after sitting for 3 months with no tender. If I make it to 6 years with the Northstar AGM's I am at even money. If I make it to 10 years I am money saved. I am already at 4+ years and they are still performing like they did when they were brand new. Odyssey is another top shelf AGM brand.

I have started removing all of my LA batteries from the 3 other vehicles we have and use. I have also installed battery tenders for each of them. I have even gone as far as removing the LA battery in our John Deere riding mower and installed a 12v lithium battery that used to be in my 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle.

Again, a draw or fault will not solve the problem of the battery being drained. But, my faith in the LA batteries of today is not good, not good at all. I am not saying that an AGM battery is the right decision for you, especially since they are normally 30% or more expensive per battery, but just a consideration for you.

I do not want the truck to be stranded 100 miles out in some BLM property because the crappy LA batteries died on me overnight.

I hope this helps you set a path forward after your issue is resolved.

 

Thanks for the post and comments. I didn't do much to troubleshoot it today. I had a late night at the "office: monday. Last night i had it towed to my next job. Today over the lunch hour i exchanged the other yr old battery for a new one. I immediately put a charger on them since i was sure the other new one was dead. Shortly before i posted this i tried to fire it and it wont crank. My keyfob and locks work today, i think i have good batteries. I forgot my meter so ill bring that w me tomorrow to do some troubleshooting.
It's different than just a dead battery. Sounds different and it's behaving differently. Random quick to slow clicking. Last night the starter solenoid was freaking out clicking fast. Tonight its opposite. One click and nada. Damn i wish i had my meter. Other times the dash goes out or goes black. I definitely have something else going on.

I need daylight and a meter.

Oh these batteries are their platinum agm line. I have the same ones in my truck and have been really happy with them. I put one in the wife's car and one in my son's car.

 

Walleye, i moved my topside battery to the frame rail a bit over a yr ago. I did it when i bought the new batteries.

 

I figured out my no crank batteries not charging. I had one bad charger, its power supply was getting weak. I removed both batteries from thr van charged them individually mounted one battery and it fired fine. Charged them with a good charger. Then i inspected the terminals closer (thanks daylight) and found a bad crimp/ corroded crimp. Got that cleaned up jump in and hit the key. I hear a pop. My 30amp fuse for the f bowl heater and fuel pump. So i guess w good juice that shows up. It will be a process to unplug that, damn van. But i thought i would update my post. We can call this solved.

 

One trick I found for removing old plastic connectors easily without breaking is to heat them up with a heat gun. Works on stubborn fuel lines too.